Ethereum 2.0 launches • Hacker News Board

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#71

Post by zdkl » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:04 PM UTC

louwrentius wrote: post #68

mikro2nd wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The world needs a form of money that is not under the control of any one sovereign power or group of sovereigns. Understanding this may necessitate reading some books, but in short, sovereigns have historically proven to be untrustworthy, so a trust-free form of money is a powerful notion.

> The world needs a form of money that is not under the control of any one sovereign power or group of sovereigns. Why? Why can't you explain this in simple, easy terms?

Simple is going to be a caricature:

Diversification of risk.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#72

Post by louwrentius » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:05 PM UTC

PycptN2MH wrote: post #66

louwrentius wrote: post #46

I don't understand this. I don't understand any of it. I don't understand cryptocurrencies. I don't understand what problems they really solve. > "Ethereum is open access to digital money and data-friendly services for everyone – no matter your background or location. It's a community-built technology behind the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of applications you can use today." I can do all these things alr…

It is deceptive to say 'I don't understand' when what you mean is 'I disagree.' Your central argument is: 'You offer a service to everyone. I already have that service. Therefore you are not creating value'

I don't even understand if they even provide a real service.

But - for the sake of argument - if they do, I don't see the unique selling points.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#73

Post by ichbinwiederda » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:05 PM UTC

busterarm wrote: post #58

RikNieu wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel that no one is using crypto currency for it's original intended purpose, and in the way it would benefit the citizens of the world the most - as liquid currency for regular & cross-border transactions. Everyone just seems to want to use it like gold, to store wealth or speculate with. This is stupid. But alas.

> in the way it would benefit the citizens of the world the most - as liquid currency for regular & cross-border transactions. Hawala has succeeded in performing that role for centuries.

Yes but Hawala it is the anti-thesis of crypto. Crypto is born out of the dream of cyberpunks to have a trustless society.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#74

Post by lkbm » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:05 PM UTC

louwrentius wrote: post #46

I don't understand this. I don't understand any of it. I don't understand cryptocurrencies. I don't understand what problems they really solve. > "Ethereum is open access to digital money and data-friendly services for everyone – no matter your background or location. It's a community-built technology behind the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of applications you can use today." I can do all these things alr…

> What problem / which problems are being solved here?

I think mostly it's for people don't want the government/Federal Reserve fiddling with the value of their money.

Personally, I think monetary policy is an incredibly valuable and important tool, but I recognize that trusting the powers that be to wield it properly is a bit naïve of me.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#75

Post by arcturus17 » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:06 PM UTC

louwrentius wrote: post #54

xiphias2 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ethereum is very different from Bitcoin, so this comment is offtopic, and it's tackling a different problem space, but if you are really interested, I'm reading the Bitcoin Standard book, and I can recommend it if you really want to understand what problem Bitcoin solves. There's no simple answer, only learning about the history of money and monetary theory from a non-Keynsian view. https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Sta…

I'm not looking for links to books. I'm looking for an explanation in plain English that shows why any of this matters.

You will not get a satisfactory answer.

Cryptocurrencies will only make sense in cataclysmic scenarios or for very niche use cases. Trust systems (of which money is one) work well (some times very well) 99.99% of the time.

It’s certainly been useful to some people for gambling - but that use case could’ve been satisfied with a video game, or a physical casino.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#76

Post by cosmodisk » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:07 PM UTC

mikro2nd wrote: post #60

louwrentius wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not looking for links to books. I'm looking for an explanation in plain English that shows why any of this matters.

The world needs a form of money that is not under the control of any one sovereign power or group of sovereigns. Understanding this may necessitate reading some books, but in short, sovereigns have historically proven to be untrustworthy, so a trust-free form of money is a powerful notion.

This may not be the case with any crypto currencies soon. The entire asset class is already way beyond 'let the geeks play with it' stage. It's taxed,it can be seized and banned all together,if that's what governments want. Not quite the freedom tbh..

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#77

Post by callahad » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:07 PM UTC

mikro2nd wrote: post #60

louwrentius wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not looking for links to books. I'm looking for an explanation in plain English that shows why any of this matters.

The world needs a form of money that is not under the control of any one sovereign power or group of sovereigns. Understanding this may necessitate reading some books, but in short, sovereigns have historically proven to be untrustworthy, so a trust-free form of money is a powerful notion.

> The world needs a form of money that is not under the control of any one sovereign power or group of sovereigns.

Do you believe that any existing cryptocurrencies currently fulfill that criterion?

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#78

Post by bjarneh » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:07 PM UTC

louwrentius wrote: post #46

I don't understand this. I don't understand any of it. I don't understand cryptocurrencies. I don't understand what problems they really solve. > "Ethereum is open access to digital money and data-friendly services for everyone – no matter your background or location. It's a community-built technology behind the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of applications you can use today." I can do all these things alr…

> What problem / which problems are being solved here?

I guess all crypto-currency is an attempt at digital cash. I.e. the ability to send "money" between people who do not trust each other digitally; with secrecy/privacy in manner which cannot be taken away by states/governments/banks etc.

Why people want to solve this problem through a scheme of chained hash-values and mining (which I guess is just padding the data you compute hash-values from until it hits a certain number of 0's at the end), is still unclear for me.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#79

Post by hated » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:08 PM UTC

louwrentius wrote: post #46

I don't understand this. I don't understand any of it. I don't understand cryptocurrencies. I don't understand what problems they really solve. > "Ethereum is open access to digital money and data-friendly services for everyone – no matter your background or location. It's a community-built technology behind the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of applications you can use today." I can do all these things alr…

The problem is payment processors deciding who you can and cannot give money to. Crypto currencies solve this problem by not requiring traditional payment processors to make an exchange of value between parties.

Re: Ethereum 2.0 launches

#80

Post by s_dev » Tue, Dec 01, 2020, 2:08 PM UTC

louwrentius wrote: post #46

I don't understand this. I don't understand any of it. I don't understand cryptocurrencies. I don't understand what problems they really solve. > "Ethereum is open access to digital money and data-friendly services for everyone – no matter your background or location. It's a community-built technology behind the cryptocurrency ether (ETH) and thousands of applications you can use today." I can do all these things alr…

>What problem / which problems are being solved here?

Lets say I want to transfer some assets to a guy without anyone knowing from any internet connection. There is a demand for this global service.

Crypto-currency faciliates this. You buy crypto with your normal currency. Transfer. Switch back to normal currency. Yes you've endured some volatility in price but the whole operation was done in an hour or so.

So legit business will set up as "Bitcoin Banks" allowing people to trade in and out of them.

It's truly "digital cash".